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Analyzing India’s Election Results – Foreign Policy

Analyzing India’s Election Results

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared victory in the country’s elections and will secure a rare third consecutive term in office, but he’ll return a weakened leader after his Bharatiya Janata Party performed far below poll expectations. For the first time as prime minister, Modi will need to rely on coalition partners to govern, which will serve as a check on what had been an increasingly authoritarian governing style.

How will Modi approach his third term, and what will that mean for the world?

FP’s Ravi Agrawal was joined by two of the foremost experts on Indian politics, Milan Vaishnav and Yamini Aiyar, to analyze the results and their impact.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi failed to achieve an expected landslide in India’s national elections, Milan Vaishnav of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace explains that the BJP had a weaker messaging strategy than the opposition campaign. 

For the first time in his political history, Modi will have to rely on coalition allies to govern. Yamini Aiyar explores why “coalitions work in India” and details the challenges that will face Modi in achieving that same success. 

Vaishnav details the lessons that global leaders looking to defeat a populist can take from Modi’s underwhelming victory.

India doubled down on its slide into illiberalism in the months leading up to the election, Aiyar says. But it backfired when voters expressed doubts about “the constant polarization and the constant authoritarianism.”

Will Modi have to change his foreign policy now that he will be heading a coalition government? Vaishnav and Aiyar say it’s unlikely, detailing why India is in a geopolitical “sweet spot.”

Milan Vaishnav

Director of South Asia program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Milan Vaishnav is a senior fellow and the director of the South Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He also hosts the Grand Tamasha podcast, which explores trends in Indian politics, economics, and culture. He is the author of When Crime Pays: Money and Muscle in Indian Politics, as well as the co-editor of several political books on India.

Yamini Aiyar

Former president, Centre for Policy Research

Yamini Aiyar is the former president and chief executive of the Centre for Policy Research, where she founded the Accountability Initiative. She also served on various government and international policy committees focusing on Indian governance, health, and public finance.

Ravi Agrawal

Editor in chief, Foreign Policy

Ravi Agrawal is the editor in chief of Foreign Policy, the host of FP Live, and a regular world affairs analyst on TV and radio. Before joining FP in 2018, Agrawal worked at CNN for more than a decade in full-time roles spanning three continents, including as the network’s New Delhi bureau chief and correspondent. He is the author of India Connected: How the Smartphone Is Transforming the World’s Largest Democracy.

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